Where Were Professor Ericson Young Sheldon Scenes Filmed?

I get a kick out of tracing locations, so here's the short take: Professor Ericson's scenes in 'Young Sheldon' were primarily shot in Los Angeles-area studios and on campus-like exteriors around Southern California. Interiors — offices and lecture rooms — are mostly soundstage builds where the art department can control every prop and poster to fit the era. For outside shots that require a real campus vibe, the production uses local colleges and dressed locations in Pasadena, Burbank, and nearby spots to mimic a Texas university.

What I like about this approach is how seamlessly LA stands in for small-town Texas on screen; the sets and exterior choices sell the geography so well that you hardly notice the swap unless you start looking for palm trees. It’s a nice mix of studio precision and on-location flavor, and it makes those academic scenes feel surprisingly grounded — I always end up smiling at the craftsmanship behind them.

Catching those college scenes has always fascinated me, and with Professor Ericson's bits in 'Young Sheldon' it's no different — most of what you see was filmed in Southern California, not in Texas. The show builds a lot of its interiors (lecture halls, offices, and family rooms) on soundstages, so the scenes where Professor Ericson is lecturing or talking one-on-one with Sheldon were typically shot on those controlled sets at studios around Los Angeles. The production favors big TV studio lots — you can think of the same kinds of stages where many multi-camera and single-camera comedies are made — because it's easier to control lighting, sound, and the period props needed to sell late-1980s/early-1990s details.

For exteriors that stand in for a college campus, the crew often uses real Southern California campuses and backlots. Places like Caltech, USC, Pasadena-area schools, and nearby college-style locations have been used by lots of shows to represent small-town or Ivy-esque campuses. For 'Young Sheldon' specifically, the exterior shots that look like Sheldon's university life — quad shots, building facades, and walk-and-talks — are usually filmed at such campuses or dressed streets in Pasadena/Burbank areas. The result is a believable collegiate look even though they're miles away from East Texas.

I love noticing the little tricks: the same hallways that appear in one episode will be redecorated for a different scene in another, and sometimes you can spot California foliage subtly peeking through windows instead of oak trees. If you're hunting for exact street addresses, the best bet is to look up filming notices or location reports from the show's production period, but as a viewer, it's neat to know most of Professor Ericson's scenes are a blend of Los Angeles soundstage craft and a handful of SoCal campus exteriors that stand in perfectly for Sheldon's early academic life. It makes rewatching those classroom moments feel like a mini scavenger hunt, which I totally enjoy.